technoculture314-09

I also agree about what was mentioned in the lecture, that gender is largely about one's cultural identity, his or her behaviour and one's social expectations, and that it is not just biological or DNA based. therefore i believe that new media is not about gender neutral, and that both males and females use gender in new media to how they see it in the outside world and to what suits them. I remember that in the lecture we were looking at a couple of examples of girl and boy websites, and I certainly have to agree with Luke Goode on the fact that virtual online games represent boys and girls in the way they should be, and not only that but also the way they should behaive or act is also represented in the games. I remember when i was much younger, about the age of 12, I would go on a Barbie website and play all sorts of online games, and to me I would identify myself with this virtual figure, and see her as an ideal type of girl that i would like to become, and this is speaking from a very young girl's perspective. Even games such as 'War Crafts' I believe represent the idealistic male type, and the type that many if not all young boys want to look up to and be. I also feel that playing these games allow us to not just watch it, but we act in it, and thus the actions that we act online determines who we are and what gender we are offline. For example, usually guys who play War Crafts would choose male figures, not female. I have also found that new media does not put females at disadvantage, even though it may seem to be focused on the males, because these days we find all types of games that are for girls of all ages. I do however believe that gender representation is important in gaming, and the fact that these days women are represented as these goddesses, and the males as these heroic gods in such games are appealing, but on the other hand they can cause damage for many, as it makes them believe that this is how you should look like, and this is the way that you should behaive in the outside world. I do however agree on the fact that new media helps to reshape gender relations, and that it gives both the men and women, girls and boys, the advantage of not only discovering what is occuring around the world, but also discovering who they are.